This is the day that … Thomas Goodwin was born in Norfolk, England, in 1600.
Converted at the age of 20, when God spoke to his heart through a sermon based on Ezekiel 16:6, Thomas Goodwin went on to become a Church of England clergyman, until he clashed with the bishop!
He was told not to preach upon controversial subjects!
And a few years later – in 1633 – when he met non-conformist leader John Cotton, the die was cast. Thomas Goodwin resigned from the Church of England and became a Congregationalist.
He pastored a London chapel, married Elizabeth Prescott, spent a year in ministry in Holland, then back to London.
During the Civil War he was a Chaplain to Oliver Cromwell (and later was at Cromwell’s deathbed); he was the non-conformists’ leader at the Westminster assembly where he spoke 357 times during the five and a half years it was in session. On 15 October, 1644, he was even called to order for speaking too long!
And he kept minutes of the meetings – 14 massive volumes.
His published writings cover 12 volumes (Banner of Truth) – for example, there are 36 sermons just on the first chapter of Ephesians.
During his lectures at Oxford his students called him “Dr Ninecaps”, possibly because of the “two double skull caps” he often wore (Puritan Profiles, by W. Barker, page 75).
Alexander Whyte speaks of him as “the greatest pulpit master of Pauline exegesis that has ever lived” (Thirteen Appreciations, page 158).
But some fellow Puritans – like John Owen – criticised Goodwin’s distinctive teachings on assurance.
Thomas Goodwin died on 23 February, 1680, and was buried in Bunhill Fields unconsecrated ground (since he was not allowed burial in the regular cemetery due to his non-conformist beliefs).
This post is based on the work of my late friend Donald Prout whose love for books and Christian history led him to collate a daily Christian calendar. I continue to work with Don’s wife, Barbara, to share his life work with the world. I have updated some of these historical posts and will hopefully draw from Don’s huge files of clippings to continue this series beyond Don’s original work. More of Don’s work can be found at www.donaldprout.com. I am indebted to Don for awakening in me an interest in Church History, which I previously considered to be a little stuffy and of little practical value. I find in the process of updating Don’s Christian Diary that I am being constantly refreshed, illuminated or challenged by the lives of those who have gone before.